The Candle In The Darkness
by bunners09
Summary: Bethyl and a little Richonne too. Rated M for language, violence, and smut in later chapters. Starts out before the fall of the prison in 4x08. Some slight timeline tweaks. My version of what could have happened right before "Too Far Gone" and in the episodes following and everything in between. First fanfic ever. Please don't be too harsh. Nothing belongs to me, except the oc's.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter one.

**_Daryl's pov_**

It was another day in the stifling Georgia heat. Daryl wiped the sweat off his forehead as he walked up to the shaded area in the prisons courtyard. Rick, Tyrese, and Carol were going over inventory. "We will need to go out on a run soon." Rick stated. Daryl's only reply was to turn and look at Rick. _Rick will tell us what to do. _It was more wishful thinking that crossed Daryl's mind than anything else. Rick had backed into a corner the last few months. It seemed like he wanted nothing to do with being the leader. "_I'm not your governor." _How could Daryl forget that day?

"Daryl, what do you think? " Carol sounded irritated. "Huh?" he was caught off guard, again. This woman seemed unusually irritable lately. "I was saying that Tyrese, Michonne, Rick and Maggie could head north to that large subdivision we passed on our last run. You and I could hit up that strip mall right off the highway that's a little south of that. It looks like it hasn't been looted yet." Carol sounded almost excited. Daryl ringed his hands, not sure how to answer.

He wasn't sure why, but Carol seemed to have been pushy lately. It seemed like any opportunity she had, she tried to be alone with him. It was beginning to annoy him. He was spared for an answer when they heard a coo, and giggling. Beth walked up with Judith in her arms. Daryl stood up and immediately grabbed the infant from her arms. The little girl looked at him and smiled. He didn't know love until the first time he had held her. "Careful Daryl, I just fed-" Beth's words were interrupted when Judith spit up all over the front of his shirt. Daryl smiled. It was weak, but it was there. He never thought he would be ok with being spit up all over. He could just imagine Merle if he was still alive. "_You've gone soft little brother. You're supposed to be out hunting, not tending to babies." _ Daryl frowned at the memory, although he missed Merle, he didn't miss being heckled.

Daryl watched as Carol took Judith from him and tried to pass her off to Michonne, who just shook her head. Daryl came to the conclusion that she just wasn't a baby person. She _never_ wanted anything to do with Judith. Rick cradled Judith in his arms, at the same time Carol started unbuttoning Daryl's shirt. "Damn woman, a man can unbutton his own shirt." He sounded a little gruffer than he had meant to. Daryl took the shirt off, glad to be rid of it in the Georgia heat. Beth handed him a new shirt. "What did ya fly back here er what girl?" Beth looked down at her feet. "I just went to grab one of your shirts off the line." She said quietly. "Thanks, Beth. But I think I'll go without a shirt for now." Beth blushed. He didn't even turn around. He could feel Carol's eyes burning into him.

It was at that moment, he had noticed what Beth was wearing. A pretty pale blue, and lacey tank top. One of her pink bra straps was starting to slide off her shoulder. very short shorts. They were almost_ too_ short. He could see her long legs, they were starting to tan from all the time she had been helping her father and Rick with the gardening. It was very different, compared to what she usually wore. He shook his head, and drew his eyes up to look at her face. "Daryl, Rick, I was wondering if maybe..." Beth trailed off. She looked at Judith, then back at Daryl. "Would it be possible for me to come on the next run?" Rick looked like he could have dropped Judith out of pure shock. At that same moment, Hershel appeared out of nowhere. "Bethany Elizabeth Greene, you will not leave the prison as long as you are my daughter!" Hershel boomed.

Beth jumped back, nearly tripping over her own feet. "It's bad enough your wearing clothes like that, Your sister was the one that convinced me to let you wear that in this heat, there is no way I am letting you leave these walls to go on a run." It was at that moment that Rick chose to speak up. "With all due respect, Beth is pretty good with a gun as well as her knife. I know you don't like the idea of her going, but my baby needs things, and Beth would know the most about what she needs, she takes care of her the most. And Beth needs to know how to go on a run, how to defend herself. If the governor ever tries to attack us again, every single one of us needs to be prepared." Hershel shifted from foot to foot. Daryl could tell he was thinking it over. Carol suddenly brushed up against Daryl. "Me and Beth could go to that little strip mall off the highway. I saw a department store 'round that area too. Looked like it might be a kid's store. She is gonna need diapers and formula soon I reckon. Beth knows what she needs." Beth looked at Daryl, as if she was saying 'thank you' with her eyes.

"Daryl I know you'll keep her safe, but I simply request that her sister go with you two to that strip mall and department store, to give me peace of mind. Now, there are a lot of requests from most of the folks here as well as myself. I will get a list, if you don't mind. When did you plan on going?" Again, Carol brushed up against him. "We plan on going tomorrow." She stated.

"Ok Carol, we only have room for six. You can stay here, tend to the fences, and help Bob and Hershel with the sick. We still have a few bodies that we need to clean out of the sick ward yet. "Rick got a dirty look in return to his statement. Tyrese suddenly had a voice then. "I'll sit this one out. Sasha is still recovering and I would rather be here. After losing Karen I would rather be close." Rick nodded in response.

"Tomorrow it is. Let's get the truck ready. "Rick looked up at Daryl, then back to Hershel. Daryl could not believe Hershel's youngest daughter was going on a run, or that he was the one who gave the final push for Hershel's approval in Beth coming. Truthfully, Beth coming just made Daryl weary; he had never seen Beth fend for herself. Not outside the prison at least. Even before they found the prison, she hung back and cooked or did laundry. He only saw her take a walker down once and that was only because Carl had been able to distract it. But Rick was not a liar. He wouldn't say she could defend herself if she couldn't. But his biggest reason for speaking up, was also making damn sure Carol wasn't getting alone with him, even if it did mean babysitting Beth Greene.

**_Beth's pov_**

"C'mon Beth, we got to get going." She was shaken awake by Carol. Beth rolled over in her cell. She looked out and couldn't see the sun. "What time is it?" Beth yawned, rubbing her eyes. For now they were lucky enough to still be able to tell time, due to one of the Woodbury residents who used to work as a jeweler before the turn. He not only knew how to change watch batteries, but had a vast collection of beautiful watches. He was lucky enough to still have the possessions after the turn. Beth picked up the watch he had given her shortly after he arrived at the prison. "5:47 am. Geez Carol, I was up with Judith a little over an over ago, can I sleep another hour maybe?" Beth rolled back over, and was then grabbed under the shoulders and sat up by Maggie. "Beth Greene you wanted to go on a run this is what we gotta do. We go early so we can get back by sunset. Now get your little ass up and get dressed. There's some peaches for breakfast and Carol made Orange Juice, now get up."

"Yes mom." Beth replied sarcastically. Peaches and oranges. It had been one of the few things they had lived off for the last few months. "_I'll have to look for something else to eat today." _Beth thought to herself. A few months back they had let in a lone survivor, Quinn, Beth was sure her name was. She had tons of food. A lot of canned food, bulk bags of rice, water, grain, even cheese. What a treat that had been. The first few days it had been easy to ration the food out, but hunger and desire for something else overtook everyone and the twenty-four days it lasted seemed to have disappeared fast. The woman went out in the woods just a few days ago to pick some berries for tea and had never come back. Neither Beth nor any of the other folks at the prison took her for someone who would just up and run. The walkers had been thick the last few days and all she had was knife to protect had nearly knocked down the fence three times. It was a shame she was gone, she had brought enough food to last over 30 people almost a month and she was just gone. Beth had prayed that third night she was gone, that she hadn't become one of them, although she knew the chances of that were slim.

Beth slipped on pants and a long sleeve shirt. The temperatures were reaching well into hundreds, without the humidity, by ten am most days, but she hated getting walker blood all over her bare skin. "Best wanna change outta that shit girl." Daryl mumbled. "I don't want blood all over me." Beth said, quiet, but almost angered. She sat on the thought for a minute, and then found a pair of shorts that hit just above the knee, and a short sleeved shirt. By this time, Maggie and Carol had both looked ready to drag her out. Beth slammed the orange juice and hastily ate the peaches. What she wouldn't do for a warm mug of coffee right now. "_Here Bethy, Maggie, here's your cups of coffee, 2 teaspoons of sugar and a little Irish cream. Shawn, your mug of hot coco will be coming right up." _Beth savored that memory of Annette. She still sometimes had nightmares of the moment her mother came out of the barn, snarling and grabbing for anything she could get her hands on. It was at that moment she realized her father had been wrong, they weren't sick, they were dead. Her mother was just a corpse that wanted to eat her. It was something she didn't think she'd ever forget.

Beth rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as she walked through the courtyard. "Beth, I know you were up with Judy last night, and I appreciate that, but you need to stay alert when we get out there. It will be about an hour drive, so you can sleep on the ride up, but once we get out of the truck you will need to be alert. Your dad would have my neck if something happened to you." Rick lectured. It was going to be a long day. Michonne was on her horse, ready to go. Beth climbed into the back of the cab of the truck, between Maggie and Carol. Daryl jumped in the driver's seat with Rick in the passenger's seat. This was not comfortable, by any means; she put her feet on the center counsel anyway, not caring who would lecture her. Before they even got to the front gates, Beth had passed out, with her head on Maggie's shoulder.

6/18/14

**a/n The medicine run with Daryl, Bob, Michonne, and Tyrese was completed already, and Rick kicking Carol out will be happen within the coming chapters. The timeline will be tweaked in a few places, and some stuff is cannon while other stuff isn't. And we will get to see Daryl's thoughts about Carol getting kicked out, but it will be minimal. I"m basing the first chapter off about 10 days before the fall of the prison fall and a week or so after the medicine run. I have written alot before, but this is my first fanfiction ever, so i hope I did good. Constructive criticism is welcome.  
**

**Daryl and Beth will switch pov randomly. I could do only a few paragraphs, or whole chapters. Also, I only plan out about 3 or 4 chapters at once. I Have chapters 2 and 3 completed, and have started the 4th. I will aim for updates every 4-7 days, but don't hold me to anything.**


	2. Chapter 2

**a/n the support I received for the first chapter was very flattering. I will try to update as much as possible, but I won't make any promises, please be patient with me as i like to take my time with my writing and i have a busy schedule and little free time. I'm also really new to this site and i'm still figuring it out. But here is chapter two, I put alot of effort into this one, hope all of you enjoy it.**

Chapter 2.

_Daryl's pov_

"Shit!" Daryl threw his hands up in the air in frustration. He knew what happened. The truck had run out of gas. How could he not notice they were low? He looked up in the mirror to see Carol, Maggie, and Beth rubbing their eyes, then to his right to notice Rick had also dozed off. Rick never slept, between worrying about Judith and Carl's safety, to keeping watch, and at the time, trying to help in the sick ward. Daryl had many sleepless nights, especially when everyone was sick, but he _never_ saw Rick sit down and relax, much less sleep. Had he known Rick had drifted off, he would have said nothing.

"We have 2 cans in the back." Rick groggily stated. A few seconds later he let out a deep snore, his head at an odd angle on the passenger door. He considered shaking him awake, there was no way _that_ could be comfortable, and Daryl knew all too well what it was to sleep anywhere but a bed. He instead rolled down the windows and decided now was the time to take a break. Let everyone sleep, _especially rick._ He had a few smokes left, might as well enjoy one. The sun was just starting to peek up in the horizon, and light was limited, but he did have enough to do what he needed to do. He filled the truck up with both gas cans. A little under half a tank, more than enough.

Carol got out of the truck and walked around to him just as he was taking the first drag of his cigarette. "I was really hoping I would get you alone today." Carol stated as she touched his arm. Daryl froze. He was clueless when it came to woman. All he ever did with woman was have a few drunken hookups with whoever Merle brought around. He barely knew how to talk to a woman without scowling or being an asshole, he had no idea how to turn one down. Especially Carol. He loved Carol, but he did not love her as any more than a close friend, and he knew he didn't feel anything there for her, but he also knew he didn't want to be an asshole to his friend. "Carol, I don't think-" Daryl was cut off by the sound of leaves rustling,.

"We got company. Get out your knives." Michonne breathed. Daryl jumped. Michonne was just like a ninja. She seemed to appear out of nowhere and barely ever talked. A small group of five walkers stumbled out of the woods, snarling their way towards the truck. Daryl had grabbed his crossbow through the open window and shot a bolt into one of the walkers heads. Michonne overtook two with her katana, Carol killed another, and Daryl got the last one with his knife. He pulled his bolt out of the male walkers head, it made a sick suction noise. He was able to knock his bow again fast and without any problem.

"Let's get going, before we get more." Just as Carol said this, around twenty of them came stumbling out of the woods. "Rick! Maggie! Beth! We need you now!" Daryl shouted frantically. This was a small herd and could easily over run them if they didn't react fast. Michonne was able to slice 3 heads off, when something startled her horse and she was bucked off. Maggie was able to stab a walker in the head before it got to Michonne, and as Michonne was getting up, the horse galloped off. By this time Daryl had taken 3 walkers, one with his bow and two with his knife. They had a total of nine or ten down so far. Three more had stumbled out of the woods. "Help me!" Daryl turned to see Beth pinned to the truck. She had managed to kill two walkers, but somehow got backed up against the truck by a male walker that was at least six feet tall and well over two-hundred pounds with unusually long arms. Beth was maybe five foot two inches and a buck twenty at most in weight. She couldn't reach his skull, not with the long arms swinging at her. He immediately ran over and pulled the walker off her. It snarled viciously at him, and he stomped its head in with his boot before it even had a chance to grab at him. Beth looked scared, but she managed to plunge her knife into a female walker's head that nearly bit Daryl. Daryl would have thanked her, but the predicament he was in there was no time.

It seemed endless. After another five or six kills, Daryl saw Rick pull out his gun, who was followed by Carol. Several shots were fired off, more bodies hit the ground. Daryl looked behind him, and saw what he dreaded most. A herd. About a quarter of a mile behind them. It looked to be maybe a hundred or more. He wasn't sure, it could have been a thousand for all he knew. "Everybody, in the truck now!" Rick shouted frantically. Daryl felt the fear in his voice, the panic. This herd could easily swallow them.

None of them needed to be told twice. Daryl grabbed his bolt out of the walkers head he had shot just a few moments ago, and jumped into the bed of the truck, followed by Michonne. Maggie being the closest one jumped into the driver's seat, Rick, Carol and Beth all jumped in and the doors slammed shut simultaneously. Maggie slammed the pedal down, and they were off like a rocket. _Good thing I filled up when I did._ Both Rick and Carol hung out the sides and shot at the walkers who got in the way. Daryl saw Beth attempt it, and glimpsed Maggie pull her back in the truck. _Gotta give her credit for trying. _He thought to himself.

It seemed like miles of walkers. They finally caught a break and the herd was thinning out. After what seemed like forever, Maggie stopped in front of a rundown gas station on the edge of a town that looked like it might have been abandoned before the turn. It was right across the street from the strip mall. "How many bullets does everyone have? Daryl, do you still have all your bolts?" Rick asked. Daryl luckily still had all of his bolts on this run. So far. "I got six of 'em. It's ready to go if I need it. Got four bullets in my gun and seven in my pocket." No one else answered. This was not good.

"Maggie, you Beth and Daryl can walk to the next block and get formula and diapers for Judith. I know the original plan was to split up between the strip mall and the subdivision but I'm not putting miles between us with a herd that size. You know the rules. If we can eat it, you take it. Take any weapons or ammo you find. Whatever you do, do not shoot. Use your knives or machetes. That herd is only a few miles back and they will be hear us if we shoot. Stay low, and stay quiet. Oh, and Beth, Maggie, while you're in the strip mall, try and find a pair of boots for Carl, one of those stores has to have something, his are falling apart." Daryl stole a glance at Beth. She was looking at her sister, her eyes wide, and her arms crossed over her chest, like she was hugging herself. She looked nervous. _You better not get me killed girl. _Daryl thought to himself.

_Beth's pov_

Beth knew she regretted this the instant Rick gave the speech. She looked at Maggie, then at Rick, then she noticed Daryl looking at her with that scowl he always wore. He immediately glanced away, like he didn't want her to know he was looking at her. He made her nervous when he looked at her like that. "Bethy, just stay close to me and Daryl and you will be ok. We won't let anything happen to you." Beth felt comforted by Maggie's words. "We ain't got all day, shit, let's go." Daryl huffed.

He slung his crossbow over his shoulder, and Beth and Maggie followed suit, Maggie with her machete out, and Beth with her knife. "Is it always like this, Maggie?" Beth inquired. Maggie sighed, Daryl rolled his eyes. "It is at first. But I am not scared of the walkers anymore, not in small numbers at least, they will always be a threat, especially when you get a herd. It's the people I get scared of most. Walkers are predictable, people aren't." She made a good point. Being behind the prison walls, Beth never worried about walkers or _people_. Not since the governor had attacked them at least.

They walked across the street, and Beth could see the strip mall. She looked over her shoulder and saw Rick and Michonne duck into a sporting goods store. She had no idea where Carol went. Beth breathed in a heavy sigh, and strode up to the doors of what looked like a thrift store. She had her hand on the handle when Daryl grabbed her arm and yanked her back. "You tryin to get yourself killed!" Beth felt her cheeks turn red, and she looked down at her feet, embarrassed. "You never enter any building without first knockin on the windows or door." Daryl paused to look into the windows of the store. "What the hell you need in here anyway?!" Beth knew Daryl was a hard ass, but he could be really mean sometimes, too mean. Maggie instantly shot back. "Rick asked us to look for boots for Carl. And it would be nice to get some new clothes. I am sure there is something in here we could use. You certainly could use some new shirts, not a single shirt you own doesn't have a hole in it" Beth was thankful for her big sister. Daryl shook his head in defeat, and just mumbled something about looking in the shop next door as he sulked off. Maggie had somehow gained respect from Daryl, she had shown him she was a lot tougher than he gave her credit for. _If only they hadn't kept me so sheltered, I could kick ass like Maggie, and get everyone to take me more serious, maybe have a little respect. _Beth thought to herself.

After four loud knocks and continued silence, Maggie slowly opened the door. Beth was amazed. For a small store, it was well stocked. It looked barely touched. Then again, people were not going to flock to a thrift store at the turn. Being more careful this time, Beth slowly made her way over to a rack of clothes in her size. "Stay close." Maggie whispered. Beth gave no reply, instead sheathing her knife and pulling several shirts off a rack. She was never into shopping before the turn, but now she loved getting new clothes. It was a small boost every time someone went out on a run and brought back a sweater, or a tee shirt for her. Maggie even brought her some new panties once. Just a few pairs of plain panties, all solid colors in a package, brand new. Beth couldn't contain her excitement then. She had three pairs, and all of them had had holes in them and were stained. Three pairs of panties were not enough for anyone, even in this world. She didn't even care that her sister tossed them at her in front of Carl, Rick, her father, and Tyrese, she was too excited for something new.

Beth had filled a large basket so full of clothes, she couldn't even carry it. She had wanted to try on every single thing in it, but she knew that would never be an option. She carefully picked through the pile, trying to choose only what she knew she really needed. She choose a few tee shirts and tank tops for herself, as well as a package of socks, two pairs of jeans, and a new bra. Her current one was well worn and ready to be tossed out. She had managed to find a large duffle bag and a pair of boots for Carl as well as a few onesies and an infant jacket for Judith. She stuffed these all into her bag, and continued to look around in the kids clothes. Maggie appeared then, also with not only one, but two large duffel bags. "What did you get Mags?" Beth teased.

Maggie was even less girly than Beth, so seeing her with two large bags full of clothes surprised Beth. "I got tons of stuff, not just clothes either. Found a few things for daddy, Rick, some of the kids needed some things too. I found some jackets for some of us, remember winter will come up on us fast and it's better to have it and not need it then need it and not have it. There was also some matchbooks behind the counter, and batteries too. Found the utility closet, had 3 jugs of laundry soap and a lot of toilet paper and hand soap. Got a few more plastic cups, plates and some silverware. I found two more duffel bags, and more stuff we could use besides all of that. There's tons of blankets and pillows too, we always need blankets and I will take them if we have the room for them. Go check out the employee break room, its right next to the bathroom, I'll load some of this stuff up. Make sure you knock on the door first Beth." Maggie reminded her. Beth rolled her eyes.

Beth found the break room and knocked. Twice. And no sounds came from behind the door. She opened it up and was greeted with a small room, it was only slightly bigger than the bathroom. There was a card table surrounded with four chairs. A microwave sat on the counter next to a sink and below two overhead cabinets. There was a fridge and a waste basket also in the room. That was it really. No decoration of any kind, just bareness and white walls. Beth opened the microwave, and instantly regretted it. There was rotting food and she had all she could do to not lose her breakfast. She slammed the microwave shut and decided against her better judgment to not even open the fridge. The first cabinet she opened had nothing except some office supplies. The second, to her surprise, had tons of stuff. Beth pulled out two boxes of ramen noodles, granola bars, easy mac, a few cans of green beans and corn, oatmeal, and a few heat and eat lunches. Beth wasn't sure how they would make some of the stuff, but she grabbed it anyway. Good thing she found another bag. She found some plastic plates and cups, and some silverware in the drawers as well.

Looking in the cabinet under the sink proved another success. She found some garbage bags, a case of water bottles, and two gallon jugs of bleach. Bleach was highly desirable for cleaning. It would be greatly appreciated, it would help to get some of the germs out of the sick ward. If only she could find some rags. _I can get some old shirts from here and we can cut those up and use those._ Beth thought proudly. She would have to have Maggie help her carry this stuff back to the truck.

When Beth was satisfied with her findings, she turned on her heel to leave and was greeted with a mural of pictures on the back of the door. There was one of a family of five standing in front of the store. A mom, dad, and two children standing in front of their mom and dad, a boy and a girl about five and three. In the moms arms was a little girl. A baby. Couldn't have been more than a year old. Beth shivered. The picture next to it was taken on a sunny day on a beach close to her hometown, dated a few days later, Beth realized upon further inspection of the all too familiar scenery. The same summer she was one, and Maggie and Shawn were five and three. It was an eerie coincidence. There were several more pictures. Some of employees who worked at the store over the years, running the cash register or hanging up clothes, but it was mostly pictures of the family, especially the three kids. The boy was dancing with a pretty girl in a wedding gown, one of the girls was graduating what Beth thought was high school. The other girl was fishing with her dad on a dock.

Beth pulled a picture off the back of the door, and stuffed it into her back pocket and a note and a picture fell on the floor. Beth first picked up the picture, and flipped it over. Donny and Trish, Jordan, five, Tonya, four and Lexi, eleven months. That answered who everyone was. Beth scanned the note, and it read,

"_Jordan, Tonya, and Lexi, _

_My beautiful, wonderful kids. I am so sorry I didn't spend more time with you over the years. After your father died I did all I could to run the business without him. Time has flown by so fast. Jordan, your married to an absolutely delightful woman, Tonya you're in college, and Lexi, you are a year from graduating high school. You have turned into the most amazing human beings I could have ever dreamed of. I am very close to my death, so I wanted to tell you again, how much I love all three of you, and I want you to promise to take care of each other, and remember your father and I are always with you in spirit. _

_ All my love, your mother, Trish_

Beth was crying. She didn't even realize it. She wiped the tears off on the collar of her shirt and decided it was time to go to the next store, but not before shoving the letter and the other picture into her pocket along with the other picture. She patted her pocket, as if to make sure it was safe. The door swung open and she jumped when she saw Daryl and Michonne standing on the other side of the door. Had they seen her reading the letters and crying? "Damn girl, looks like you and sister packed the whole damn store up. Better have something we can use in there." Beth smiled. Daryl would never change.

**a/n and there is the 2****nd**** chapter. I'll be honest guys, I had the chapter wrote, but it was a long chapter and I had to keep going and re-writing sections over and over and over, and then I'd have to go into chapter 3 and change something else around, before I forgot and threw the whole story off. Writing is one area I do not like to rush and just throw out there as soon as I think it's fit for the world to see. **

**Anywho, I will aim for another chapter before the 4th of July, and of course, before the dead, white, and blue marathon on AMC. It's all wrote out, and it's a short chapter, but I still got to go thru it again. If you are from or live in America, have a safe and happy 4****th****! **


	3. Chapter 3

_Daryl's pov_

The rest of the run had gone smoothly, and they were even able to bring almost all of the stuff back. Daryl was even happy to of found some new bolts for his bow. And he would never say it, but he did find some new boots, socks, boxer shorts, and a few new shirts and pants. He hid them the best he could in a bag of weapons that was retrieved. "Would you throw this bag in the back Daryl?" Maggie asked, handing Daryl a pink backpack. Daryl threw it over his shoulder and felt the contents of the bag hit the ground the same time he heard the backpack rip open. To his horror, it was every feminine hygiene product he had ever seen in the grocery store aisles in his life. There was also ones he had never seen. There was pink, purple, blue, and light green boxes and packages everywhere. Did that one say feminine wipes? _What the hell do they do with those?! _Daryl shuddered at the though. Michonne busted into laughter, the first time Daryl had ever seen her laugh. Daryl shuffled away awkwardly, not sure what to do, and very embarrassed himself. Beth and Maggie were blushing, but joined in on the laughter as Michonne stooped for one of the boxes and handed Daryl a package of tampons. Heavy flow absorbency, to be exact. He wasn't sure what the look on his face was, but three woman were laughing at him, and now even Rick was joining in too.

"I don't see why we need these damn things." Daryl shouted. He threw them in the truck anyway. "Well, unless you want every single girl bleeding all over-" Maggie was cut off. "Just take whatever you need!" Daryl silenced her. He looked around, everyone was laughing. Michonne had tears in her eyes. Daryl thought to himself, _she looks human. _He then too, gave in to the laughter. He shyly bent down and began to pick everything up. Maggie and Michonne helped him load the products back into a garbage bag. Daryl had never seen Michonne laugh, much less smile. _She looks kind of cute when she laughs so hard_.

But the laughter turned to fear, when he heard a nasty, unfriendly, and _very_ unwelcoming voice right behind him, and felt something cold and hard pushed into his temple. The barrel of a gun. "Give me the three woman, and all your weapons and food and there will be no trouble." Daryl could feel the man struggling to pull his crossbow off his back. It was crossed over his shoulder and came down on the opposite hip, like always. He looked around. There was eight men. There was only five of them. _Carol, where is Carol? _Daryl silently prayed she was ok, wherever she was. "You can't have them" Rick replied to the man. He had a shotgun pointed in his back. "Who says we can't?!" The tall lanky man who was holding a gun to Maggie's head shouted. He sounded raspy, and there was a sick excitement in his voice.

Daryl felt his stomach do a flip. These men had appeared from nowhere, they had been watched, and for how long Daryl wasn't sure, no more than the last hour or so, as that's when Carol was last around any of them, and they had only said three woman. Maybe that meant Carol was safe. Or they could have already had her. These men were good at stalking and attacking their pray, Daryl knew men like this. Hell, Daryl was a man like this at one point. A man who knew how to hunt, but not a man who would rob innocent people. Not after the turn, _not after the farm at least._

They waited until everyone had had their guard down, till they didn't have an eye on their surroundings, then they pounced on opportunity. Just like a hunter and its prey. Daryl knew he had to stay calm, but he was used to being the predator, and they were outnumbered. He turned his gaze back to Rick, the wheels were turning, and Daryl knew Rick would get them out of this, hopefully without someone dyeing. Daryl felt his crossbow get slid off his shoulder, he didn't fight it, instead looked down at his pocketknife that was clipped in his pocket. The dumbass didn't even take a minute to look in his pockets. Daryl was suddenly happy that he decided to wear black jeans that day.

"You can't shoot." Maggie spoke fearfully. "There was a herd a few miles back, if you shoot, they will hear you and overrun us." Maggie looked right at the man, at who Daryl presumed to be the leader. "I don't believe you." The man hissed. Daryl then saw the sorry excuse of a man who had Beth. How could he have missed it? He was large in size, he seemed almost as wide as he was tall. Had a sick smile on his face, the only teeth he had were yellow and jagged. He was holding a knife to Beth's throat, and Daryl could see a few beads of blood under the long blade. "I'm going to fuck you till your split in half blondie, and I'm gonna dump my seed in you and take you with me, you'll be my slave from now on." Daryl saw the anger in Michonne, Rick's and Maggie's eyes. Felt his own blood boiling. It took him everything he had to not tackle the man and kill him right then and there. He and Rick had promised Hershel they'd keep his youngest daughter safe. Even if this wasn't Beth, no human being deserved to be berated the way Beth was at that moment. He saw the look on Rick's face. "We are going to kill all of you fuckers if you don't let us go right now." Daryl had never heard Rick this angry. "We are going to kill you first!" The man holding Beth cackled.

Right at that moment, that there was a crash from the alley. The remaining three of the men ran towards it blindly, "Dave, Lew, and Allen, will get the biters before they get us! Then we get all these woman to take with us." One declared. Seconds later, three gunshots were fired off, and a stray walker stumbled out from behind a car. Everything happened all too fast. Michonne was the first to react, the man who was holding her let go of her for a brief second to kill the walker, and in one swift movement, she picked her katana up off the ground and sliced into the man's head who fell to the ground in a heap. She was somehow able to grab the gun off the man who was holding Maggie and shoot him. The man behind Daryl collapsed in a heap from the gunshot to the head. He saw Carol on top of one of the roofs. He'd have to thank her later. Daryl was able to put a bolt into Rick's captor seconds later, and from there, only one was left standing. Daryl threw one of the knives off the body of his perpetrator into the back of the man's head as he took off running. The man who had Maggie.

"Where is Beth?!" Maggie screamed. She was running around, frantic. Walkers where everywhere. "We gotta go!" Carol shouted. She had come off the roof and returned to them, shooting three walkers in her path. Maggie pushed Carol out of her way. "I'm not leaving without Beth! If anyone wants to leave go! But I'm not leaving without my sister!" Daryl saw the fear in her eyes. "We'll help you look!" Daryl yelled. The walkers were coming from every direction. Daryl had no idea how they would find Beth, but he wasn't going to leave Hershel's youngest daughter behind after he swore he would protect her.

"You're hurting me! Stop!" Maggie tore off after the sounds of Beth's pleas, dodging two walkers on the way. They followed the pleas to an alley. This time they heard a shrill scream, and were able to locate the sound from behind a dumpster corral. Carol and Rick took down two walkers trying to snarl their way to the noise. Between Rick, Maggie, and Daryl, they were able to move the large dumpsters that stood between themselves and Beth. How this asshole, who was almost as wide as he was tall, got himself and Beth behind them in that short of a time, with only one arm to maneuver anything _and_ fight off the dead, was beyond Daryl.

There was Beth, and she was laying on the ground, on her side, her clothes were torn, the top half of her body fully exposed. Her arms were being held behind her. The large man was holding her down, and he no longer had pants. Beth's shorts were torn on one side, almost all the way up to her hip, the sorry excuse of a man was struggling with his knife to cut off what was left of Beth's clothing. Daryl could see the tears pouring down her face. The slash wounds the pig had carelessly cut into her leg and side. There was a shallow slice on her neck from where he had held the blade earlier. He didn't hesitate for a second. He didn't care if he died in that moment. If there was one thing in this world he was highly against, it was to never touch a woman in any way that harmful or unwelcome. Both he and Merle got into fights defending woman they didn't know. They were almost always just some bar slut or a hooker, but that never stopped them. Merle was the only one who ever went to jail.

Daryl threw himself at the man the same time Maggie grabbed her sister. The man pulled his knife on him, and Daryl easily knocked it out of his hands, but not before receiving a gash to the chest. He kept punching, ignoring everything around him. He felt several blows back to his face, arms, and chest, but he didn't care about the pain, he wasn't stopping until the piece of shit was dead. Several shouts asking him to stop were coming from the others, but he kept going. "Please." The man stopped fighting and was silently pleading. Daryl ignored him. He threw one last blow with all the strength he could manage. He felt the man's jaw snap under his fist. There was a gurgle, and a few short, raspy breaths. Daryl stood up, covered in blood, then turned and kicked the man's torso hard, this time hearing something in his chest snap.

Rick, Michonne, and Carol had managed to kill the walkers in the alley, but they kept coming. They were trapped. Maggie was holding Beth, both were crying. Beth was still exposed. Daryl swung his vest off, and handed it to Beth, who immediately covered herself. She only had his vests and the pair of blue panties. Her shorts must have fallen off as soon as she stood up. She was clutching a piece of paper in her hand and a picture maybe, Daryl couldn't tell nor did he care. He saw Beth hastily shove them into the inside pocket. "I'll carry Beth, Maggie, I can shoot and carry her at the same time. Michonne and Maggie, you guys go first, Carol and Daryl, bring up the rear. Stay close!" Rick demanded.

They somehow made it out of the alley and back to the truck with no one bitten. Rick jumped into the driver's seat, after carefully but quickly placing Beth in the backseat. Carol and Michonne jumped into the bed of the truck. Maggie and sat in the backseat with her sister, holding her in a protective embrace. Daryl sat in front with Rick, but turned to look at Beth. He knew he would do anything to protect his family, he would of dove in there after Carol or Maggie, or Michonne, even Lori or Andrea if they were still alive. He doubted Michonne would ever need to be saved, but if she did Daryl would save her. Hell, he would have done it for any woman. God knows he almost went to jail several times for beating the shit out of assholes like his dad. But with Beth, he just saw red. He couldn't stop even if he wanted to. He wanted the man who did that to her to suffer, even if he died in the process. Beth wasn't helpless, but she only weighed maybe a buck twenty and maybe five feet two inches tall. The Sorry excuse of a man who had her was more than twice, if not three times her size and a foot taller if not more.

What in the world possessed him to go that far for Beth? Maybe it was the fact he knew he would do anything for Hershel. The man had lost his wife and stepson, saved Carl's life, fixed Daryl up after he took the arrow in his side, had lost his leg and lived through it getting chopped off. He was a moral compass to all of them at one point. He had brought Rick back after he lost Lori, stopped Daryl from making dumb choices, he had done everything he could to help the sick, picked berries outside the prison walls to make tea, grown crops that had kept everyone from starving when food was scarce. And he had passed on medical knowledge to all of them. His wisdom was passed around almost daily, in some way or another. After Rick, Hershel was one of the few people Daryl listened to and respected. Hershel had done so much for their group, how could Daryl not protect Beth? After the loss of his family and his farm, and all he did for him, Daryl knew he would always protect what was left of Hershel's family especially Beth.

It wasn't her fault her father and sister had kept her sheltered since day one, she had very little experience in surviving in this world. After Judith was born, Rick was unstable, and the first one to volunteer to take care of her was Beth. Not Carol, Not Maggie, but Beth. She never once complained about taking the role of the mother to the infant. She was up with her all hours of the night, comforting her, or feeding her. Beth had offered to help kill walkers at the fence, more than once, and Rick, her father and Maggie had all told her to tend to Judith and the other kids and to help with laundry, gardening, and cooking. Once in a while shed help clear the fence, but that was only when the walkers got piled up and only when no one else could do it. Daryl had always shrunk into the background when he heard her ask. Why didn't he speak up and tell them to let her help?

"Soon as we get past this herd I think we should stop and get some clothes on Beth and find a place to stay for the night." Daryl was shocked at his own words. He had been thinking them, but had no intention to say them. What had gotten into him? Why had he let his thoughts escape? He dared to steal a glance into the backseat. Beth had a small smile on her lips. Daryl immediately turned around to focus on something else. Anything else. He didn't need Beth Greene thinking he was some kind of hero. All he did was what he needed to do and nothing else. And he'd be damned if some young girl started following him around because he saved her from getting majorly violated. Rick turned down a road and up ahead Daryl could see a subdivision. He was going to get as far away from everyone as possible.

**a/n** **I don't know if i liked this chapter, that's why it took me a a few days longer than planned to get out. As always, let me know what you guys think. Thank you all for the support so far! I have started the 4th chapter, but have no idea where im going for my fifth yet! Don't worry, im not abandoning the story. I have tons of notes for future chapter and even though I'm not close to writing them yet, iIam very excited for when I do. I do need to watch the marathon this weekend though, get caught up on season 4, so I can write the chapters after I get the 4th one up for all of you! anywho, happy Independence Day to my fellow Americans, stay safe and have a great holiday weekend!** **I will shoot for that next chapter by next week. **


	4. Chapter 4

**a/n Chapter 4, a little late but its here! enjoy!**

_Beth's pov_

Beth laid in the truck, her head in Maggie's lap. Her tears had long subsided, now she was just wondering why it happened. She had never felt so violated in all her life. Her sister was right, all the dead wanted was to eat them, but people could be good or evil. Beth had always known this, especially since the turn, but this time it was such a slap in the face. Maggie was no longer crying either, but silent. Beth knew her sister well enough to know she was angrier than anything, but the problem had been taken care of so there was nothing to speak of. Daryl kept looking at her, mostly sideways glances over his shoulder, but still looking. Rick, like Maggie, was silent. It was then Beth realized she was wearing Daryl's vest and someone had covered her with a thin blanket. She shivered and pulled it around her chin. Even though it was about a hundred degrees out earlier that day, Beth had felt chilled. The truck had stopped, and Beth sat up. It looked like a subdivision. There was a lot of what looked like newer homes. Beth decided to speak. "Are we going to stay here tonight?" The three other heads turned and looked at her as if they were shocked she had a voice. "Yes, Beth. It turned into a long day and travelling at night is too big of a risk, especially with a herd that size. Daryl was right about staying somewhere tonight" Rick sighed. All of them clambered out of the truck and shut the doors as quietly as they could. She knew he had wanted to be back to Carl and Judith. She wondered what her father would think when it was night time and they still weren't back. "When the sun comes up, we leave. I'm gonna back the truck up into that garage over there, and that is where we will stay, it's the biggest house I see and its two stories so we can sleep on the top and barricade the bottom. Beth, Carol will look over your wounds then I want you and Maggie, to go in to the house first, I'll help you clear it, get some dinner going, get some candles set up, then Carol and I are gonna go check out some of the houses, and Daryl and Michonne can get the others."

Beth saw Carol grimace. What was up with her lately? "I'm fine Rick. I'd rather help then feel useless. I feel violated, but I'm fine to help gather supplies and kill a few walkers if need be." The look on his face said otherwise. Maggie shook her head. "Maggie! I'm eighteen going on nineteen, I'm an adult, and I think you can agree that I had to grow up a little faster than most girls my age! Stop treating me like a child who can't handle myself and let me help. I am _so sick_ of being treated like a baby. Let me help." Beth was surprised at even her own defiance. Maggie, Rick Michonne and Carol all looked shocked. Again. Daryl had a smirk on his face. "Fine." Maggie gave in.

Beth hugged her sister, and then realized she still had on only Daryl's vest. "Let me get some clothes first." Beth reached into a neon green duffle bag her sister handed her, and found a pair of sweat pants and a pink tee shirt. Everyone but Maggie had walked away. Beth was sure her sister was waiting to see if she needed any help. "I can dress myself Maggie, thanks." She received a slightly hurt look in return. Maggie was too protective of her sometimes. "Let's go clear that house over there, then we can go and get dinner started." Beth pointed at a house across the street. Maggie smiled and put her arm around her sister.

_Daryl's pov_

Daryl was more than thankful to settle into his makeshift bed that night after Carol had cleaned his cuts up and he had ate a jar of some kind of tangy fruit and smoked venison he had taken on the road. The house they had found had had more than enough space for all of them. He and Michonne had been paired off to search a few of the houses. He and Carol briefly looked through one of the homes. She didn't seem to be bothering him so much in that house. Most of them had been new construction and had very little in them and others had already been looted.

They did find a garden at one house with tons of vegetables and even a few apple and peach trees. Everyone was sick of peaches, but nonetheless, Daryl filled up a sack with the fruits. The apples were a huge treat though. Searching the basement of the home proved a high success. Bumping into a wall revealed a hidden door that held canned veggies, jams, and crates of food that lined the walls from floor to ceiling. They weren't going to have time to load any of it up tonight, so Daryl placed the door back into place, just in case someone else came through they wouldn't discover the hidden goods. He and Carol retired to the house they were staying in shortly after the garden house. Rick had decided to try and find another vehicle, they had too much stuff already and there was no way six people were going to fit comfortably and be able to haul everything they had found back. Maggie had discovered a key in the desk of a larger house and that key led to a room full of guns and ammo. Besides the food Daryl and Carol had retrieved, the weapons was a major find. Seven more guns and more boxes of ammo then they could count.

Rick had volunteered the first watch, but Michonne insisted she take it. They had split it up into four people doing the watch, that way everyone got about five or six hours of sleep. Seven if they were lucky. Maggie volunteered second, Daryl third, and Carol last, and then Rick if he was needed for a watch after Carol. Daryl doubted Carol's watch would last long, they didn't ever stay on overnight runs but Daryl didn't see them being there more than ten hours. By the placement of the sun hanging low in the sky, it was around 8:45 pm, and Daryl was positive about Rick wanting to be leaving at sunup. The route they were taking back was almost forty-five minutes longer, but it was far away from the herd.

"No guns, we don't know where that herd is." Rick reminded Michonne. What would she do, throw her katana at a walker? That would be fun to see. Michonne said nothing, just walking down the hall to the balcony she would finish her watch at. Rick went off into a room by himself, what was the master bedroom, and shut the doors. Just a few minutes later, Rick could be heard snoring. Daryl let out a small chuckle.

Although everyone slept most of the night now, Daryl was always prepared for the governor to attack. He was certain he was dead, but there was never proof of it, so it was always at the back of his mind. Rick had pushed it out of every converstation, he had wanted to play farmer for Judith and Carl. Daryl didn't understand why at first, why he'd want to forget about the evil man who tried so hard to take the prison, but after a while it occurred to him Rick wanted to give his children a life outside of living in fear every second. That was no way for anyone, especially kids.

Daryl decided it was safe to take his boots off. He was the only one who had to sleep on a couch, but it was better than the floor. He took in his surroundings. A recliner at his feet, a gaming chair in the corner of the room, and multiple controllers lying around. An elaborate entertainment system lined the wall when he rolled to his right. The entertainment center probably cost more than his bike and the last three trucks he had owned combined. A tv that covered the wall, every black box imaginable, speakers everywhere, hundreds and hundreds of dvd's and cd's. Or maybe it was a thousand. There were six remotes on the end table next to him. "Rich people. Buy all this shit and barely ever use it." Daryl muttered.

And there were portraits everywhere. A family of eight, mom, dad, and six kids. The one teenage boy, maybe sixteen years old. Twin girls, around thirteen, another girl who looked about eleven, a boy that was six or seven and an infant boy who had to only be a few days old. It was almost creepy, being surrounded with all the portraits staring down at him. Considering his options though, he didn't do too bad, and he couldn't let some portraits of a family that was probably dead creep him out.

Maggie, Carol and Beth were staying in a pink and purple bedroom next door, with bunk beds and a twin mattress off to the side of the room. He knew he wasn't staying in that room even if he was forced too. Everyone let Rick have the biggest bedroom with the king sized bed at the end of the hall. Michonne picked a room she'd be returning to in a few hours that had once belonged to the teenage boy and maybe his brother. There was a futon in the bedroom as well as the bed, but neither he nor Michonne were comfortable enough with each other to share a room. Daryl could have fought her for it, but he was used to sleeping on couches anyway so he told her to take it.

There was another bedroom, the nursery actually, but there was two corpses in there, a man and woman, who had died from gunshot wounds to the head. Probably the home owners, everyone had concluded. The faces were too rotted away and no one wanted to inspect the bodies anyway. None of them spoke of where all the children might be. Daryl definitely wasn't staying that in that bedroom even if the bodies were nowhere near where anyone would sleep.

Sleep eventually overtook Daryl, and he was being shook awake by Maggie what seemed like only moments later. By instinct he grabbed the hilt of his knife and almost pulled it out of its sheath when he realized he was being woke up for his turn to go on watch. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and put his boots back on. "You see anything?" Daryl yawned. Maggie shook her head before ducking back into the bedroom with her sister and Carol. He happened to see her crawling in the same bed as Beth. They looked cozy. But he knew it wasn't her being protective, he knew she'd want to get up fast if they needed to go and sleeping on the top bunk would make that hard.

Daryl walked out the balcony that overlooked the street and sat down in the chair, setting his feet up on the railing and his crossbow next to him. It was loaded, but he hoped he didn't need to use it. By looking at the moon, he was estimating the time to be about 2:30 am. One primitive survival skill he knew, how to read time by the sun and moon. It was a skill no one knew he had. He did prefer a watch or a clock to look at when possible. When he actually did need to tell the time, which wasn't often. Rick had found a clock on a run, a single clock, and they had a supply of batteries lying around, so they used it for the clock that hung in the cell block. The Woodbury man had offered him a watch, and Daryl turned him down. Time didn't matter much anymore. Either they had all the time in the world or none at all. And he never wore a watch in his life anyway, why would he start now? It was a nice watch, somehow it set with daylight savings, but Daryl didn't want any handouts.

He'd stay out till at least 4:30 then he'd wake up Carol for last watch. Everyone should be starting to get up by 6:30, so they could load up and head out. He watched a few lone walkers come through; one went as far as walking just below him and stalking around for a few minutes. When the breeze blew just right, it realized Daryl was up there, he shot his crossbow into the male walkers head with complete accuracy and it immediately fell to the ground. He didn't need any noise drawn to them, not now. Other than the few walkers, there was very little activity. Daryl had just noticed Beth's watch was sitting on the small table next to him. He picked it up and read the time, thankful Maggie had swiped it. It was now 4:51 am. He was tired of sitting so he went and woke Carol up. She rubbed her eyes and got up. Daryl immediately returned to his sofa. He wasn't sure if he would get any real rest between now and the next hour and a half or so, but he wasn't going to get up and stare at the wall until everyone else was up. He could start loading up, but the garden house was six houses down and he couldn't carry the boxes of food and easily access his weapon if he needed to. He was just closing his eyes and getting comfortable when he heard Carol tip toe up to him. "Daryl, there's a herd passing though." She hissed. Daryl felt his blood turn to ice and he immediately shot back up. It would only take a few to break down the door, and even with the stairs barricaded off, even a dozen would mean trouble for them. They may be dead but they were incredibly strong.

"Go wake up Rick and Michonne, I'll go get Maggie and Beth." His voice was as quiet as he could make it. If they stayed quiet a herd would go through unnoticed, as long as their scent wasn't too thick in the air. But they couldn't stay sleeping. The risk was too great. What if someone dropped something or someone even snored too loud? It didn't take much noise to attract them and both Daryl and Carol knew there was no point in taking any risks. Daryl walked into the pink and purple bedroom, and grabbed Maggie by the shoulders, she opened her eyes, then her mouth to say something, and he immediately clasped his hand over her. "Herd." he grunted. She nodded and softly shook Beth awake with a finger held to her lips. She lit a match and searched for something. There was some letters from a kid's game or something, lying on the floor. Maggie found the four letters required and spelled herd. Beth nodded, and picked up a question mark and held it in the air. Rick appeared in the door then, and motioned for everyone to come into the large bedroom. Someone had found a pen and a notepad, and Rick had scrawled on it, _we all stay in here until it passes. _Maggie grabbed the pen and pad, and wrote back, _how big is it? _Carol walked over to the window and back, and took the pad and pen from Maggie, and wrote her reply, _Huge. Probably three or four hundred, maybe more. _

Everyone took a spot in the room, all with hands on their weapons. After an hour, it was going on six am, and Rick pulled back the blinds. The sun was starting to rise. He finally spoke. "It's thinned out. Maybe only forty or fifty, but I wanna wait another hour or two before we leave. Everyone can lay back down now and get a little rest, I'll come and get you." Beth and Carol were the only ones to stand up. Everyone else stayed rooted to the spot. "How about you get some rest and one of us will come and get you?" Maggie suggested to Rick. He sighed and finally nodded in agreement. Daryl wasn't sure how he felt about this, but the man needed his sleep. He picked up his cross bow and decided he'd find some walkers to put some bolts into until it was time to leave.

_beths pov_

_"C'mon Bethy! See if you can catch up to Maggie and me!" It was a warm spring day back on the farm. Beth was five years old. Her older siblings were running away and she had to try and catch them. Annette and Hershel watched from close by, admiring their beautiful children. Beth became frustrated at her siblings teasing and sat between her mother and father on the porch swing. Her mother pulled her into her lap and kissed her cheek. "Momma, I wish Shawn and Maggie loved me as much as much as I loved them. They are always mean to me and running away when I want to play." Annette cupped Beth's small face into her hands. "Beth, your brother and sister love you so very much. As your father and I do. You may not see it now, but someday when you are all grown up, you kids will appreciate each other and you'll be there for each other and protect each other when no one else will." Shawn and Maggie appeared on the porch then. Shawn held a flower out to Beth the same time Maggie presented Beth with a piece of candy. Annette smiled down at Beth, who gladly accepted the gifts. "We love you Bethy." Maggie said sweetly. Suddenly everyone around Beth was a rotting corpse, all reaching for her. The man in the alley who tried to rape her was there too. He stood next to her, grabbing for her. Saying what nasty deed he wanted to do to her. She wanted to scream, needed to scream, but then she felt something shaking her. _

Maggie was positioned over her, a finger to her pursed lips. Beth shook her head as if she could shake away the nightmare. She hadn't had one of those in a few weeks. Daryl was in the room too, looking at her. Beth wanted to ask what was wrong, but she had a feeling. If it wasn't walkers, it was people. Maggie spelled out the word herd with some alphabet magnets laying on the floor, and Beth immediately felt sick to her stomach. As if they weren't late going back to the prison already, now they had to wait for another herd to pass through? Or maybe the same herd. Beth saw a question mark and picked it up. She didn't get any response because it was then that Rick appeared. Everyone crept to the large room he had been sleeping in moments later and it was communicated that there was three or four hundred walkers outside. Rick kept shaking his head, but the plan was to stay put for now. Everyone had looked tired, especially Daryl. He must have been last on watch.

After an hour of standing with her guard up, Beth had been relieved to hear Rick tell them they could go and rest. Until the last remaining walkers thinned out, no one could even leave the top floor, so going and getting the crates of food Daryl and Carol had found was not an option for at least an hour or two. That was if the remaining thirty or forty corpses moved on. Even then, they still had to be cautious, any noise could bring back hundreds within minutes.

Beth found the restroom and was thankful the toilet wasn't left with any surprises in it. She sat down and heard something scratching. She looked to see a rat staring at her from the edge of the bathtub. A scream caught in Beth's throat. She hastily finished her business and ran out of the bathroom, shutting the door with a click behind her. She knew living on a farm all her life, she shouldn't be scared of critters, but rats freaked her out for some reason. She turned the corner to go into the bedroom Maggie was in and bumped into Daryl. "Watch'r step! Almost put a bolt in you girl!" Beth mumbled an apology back at him and returned to her sister. Maggie was packing up what she could for now and Carol was slicing some fruit. After the last hour, none of them had wanted to sleep. She tried handing a few pieces to Beth, who shook her head. She wasn't hungry right now. Maggie raised an eyebrow at her, but didn't elaborate on it.

The sun had been long up, and the plan was now to move out. There was only around a dozen or so walkers hanging around and they were spread out. Daryl managed to kill the five closest ones with his crossbow through an open window in the living room. He shot one more bolt off and waved his hand at everyone to go out. As a team they were able to kill the remaining walkers lingering in the street. Most of them didn't even have a chance to react before they were sliced or stabbed. Beth even managed to stab a girl around her age in the head. The girl recently died, maybe only a few hours ago, as her skin was very well in tact yet and she didn't reek as much as others, nor was her blood very dark when Beth stabbed her in the temple. She had no bite marks. But she did have what looked like a deep scratch on her arm. Beth saw the bracelet with her name on it. "You were doing what I've been doing this whole time, just trying to survive. I'm sorry this happened to you Liza, rest in peace." Beth picked up a jacket lying on the ground nearby and covered the girls face. She then turned and saw none other than Daryl glaring at her. Beth turned her back to him. He had just put down a child walker, and she didn't want to picture the child's short cruel life nor receive his glares. "Let's go Beth!" Maggie called to her sister from across the road. Beth replaced her knife in its sheath. And ignoring the dirty look from Daryl, strode to her sister to help load the vehicles up as quickly as possible. It was time to get back to her father, Judith, and everyone else at the prison, and be able to more easily avoid Daryl and his dirty looks.

**a/n hope u guys like that last little part with beth covering the girls face. that was a last minute thing to add! and sorry it took so long for the update. I take my sweet time with writing, it has to be perfect, and i work full time and pick up overtime as i can so i only get a few hours a day to write! but i may be taking a position with a few less hours soon, so that would mean updating more often. whoot whoot! i didnt get to watch much of the marathon, so i need to rewatch a few episodes of season 4 before i can continue parts of the story. chapter 5 is half way done. and i have six and seven drawn up in my head, plus lots and i mean lots of notes for future chapters. I have soo many ideas and i cant wait till i get further into the story to share them with everyone! i really hope writers block does not hit me so bad with chapter five, i have been having some troubles with that one so lets hope for the best! and to those of you who have asked, the only romance is bethyl, but Michonne is one of my favorite characters and its nice to see her warming up a little and that was Daryl's reaction, just thinking she actually looked human. This story will involve a little Richonne, as they are my next ship i love, but no idea when that will happen. once i get a good start on this story i might right a richonne fic. anyways, have a great weekend everyone and as always, reviews are appreciated!**


	5. Chapter 5

**a/n sorry it took so long guys, i work full time and have had tons of migraines in between working which makes me useless. and then i lost my internet for two days. anyway, here it is, enjoy.**

_Daryl's pov_

Daryl could not believe he had heard Beth talk to one of those things. He knew she was more sensitive than the rest of them, but to talk to the dead like they were still living. Without asking what she said, he told her not talk to them like they were still alive. Beth frowned at him and walked to her sister's side to help keep watch as everyone else loaded the vehicles up. When Daryl walked off by himself for a moment, Rick followed and handed him the keys. "Listen Daryl, I need to talk with Carol alone for a few hours. I'm going to go down the road a few miles and I'll be back before supper tonight. I want you to tell everyone I'll be back tonight."

Daryl thought it was weird, but he just shook his head and grunted in reply. He noticed Beth was watching him, and tossed her the keys. _Catch em Greene. _"Alright Barbie, you drive."The keys slipped through her fingers. _Jesus fucking christ._ Daryl hadn't even cared he was being an ass. He was tired and more than ready to get back to his own cot and the privacy of his cell. He also wanted to make sure Beth didn't get too appreciative of him helping to save her ass from that lowlife back in that alley. He jumped into the front seat, receiving a look from the other Greene sister. Beth was fine, her sister didn't need to sit shotgun.

_beths pov_

The ride home had gone smoothly. Beth had only needed to ask once where to turn, and it was even a different route they took back. For never being out of the prison or in this part of Georgia before the turn, Beth did pretty well with directions. Before she knew it, she could see the fence surrounding the prison from the road. There was a few walkers hanging around, but that was no big deal. She saw Carl, and surprisingly Sasha pull the rope to open the gates. Tyrese and Bob stood a short distance away and distracted a few walkers from the vehicle. Beth drove the truck up the edge of the courtyard where the vehicles were always parked. Tyrese, Sasha, Carl and Bob ran up to them, and Hershel walked out with Judith in his arms. "Wow, this is a lot of stuff, good job guys!" Sasha threw her arms around Beth and Maggie at the same time, squeezing them together into a small group hug. Hershel handed Judith off to Carl, and walked over to Beth and Maggie. He kissed his daughters on the cheek, then gazed into the truck in confusion. "Where is Rick and Carol?"

"We don't know where they went, he told us he'd be back later." Maggie spoke to her father. "They'll be back in a few hours. Before supper." Daryl added. "Let's get this stuff unloaded. Ricks gonna be bringing back a ton of food in his car." Everyone nodded, Beth wanted to resume taking care of Judith, but her father had a hard time doing much more than gardening and walking with his prosthetic leg, he had just recently been able to carry Judith and walk, and Beth was more than able to lift. She wasn't as physically strong as everyone else, but she wasn't weak either. She grabbed the first thing that she could reach. Daryl immediately swooped in and grabbed the bag from her. Whatever it was he didn't want her touching it. Whatever. She was able to carry most of the clothes and cleaning supplies in only three trips.

Lunch was apples, and some canned beef stew. They sat down immediately after unloading, and after no breakfast, the cold beef stew was appetizing. Beth used to be a vegetarian, but when it came to survival she couldn't be picky about her food groups or if her food was going to be heated up. What she had was considerably good, and she wouldn't trade it for anything. Maybe a home cooked meal from her mom, but considering circumstances she knew that wouldn't happen. A home cooked meal might never happen again, no one knew if the world would ever come back together. But Beth prayed every night it would. She had to have faith it would. Had to have faith they could sleep at night without one eye open, that they could all carry on with their lives, and not worry about fighting for survival every second of the day. Then again, meeting these people was one of the best blessings Beth had ever had. She knew if the world didn't take a turn for the worst, she would have never met Rick, or Glenn or Daryl. They were all amazing people. Rick an amazing leader, Glenn, who finally gave her sister the happiness she deserved and did well for the group, and Daryl. He may be a hard ass, but he would always protect the group and defends Rick's honor. And there was Judith. Beth felt like Judith was her child, she had taken care of her almost daily since Lori died. She just felt like it was the right thing to do. Everyone loved the little girl, and although loosing Lori was hard for everyone, the little girl had brought a new sense of hope to all of them.

Beth glanced at Judith. She was being bottle fed by Daryl. She was the only one who was a constant worry for food. The initial worry was formula. They needed to make runs for it at least once or a twice a week, sometimes three times, and every time they had to go somewhere new. They had gotten lucky, they came back with a different kind every time, and almost every time she was able to digest it. Very rarely would Judith spit up. But the challenge never stopped with her. She was old enough now that she could eat fruits and vegetables, but not very many things were easy to mash up for her and nothing kept. They were able to boil anything over open flame, but the baby food jars were nice on days it was raining or too hot to have a fire. And much easier than spending all that time prepping the food for Judith. In a few months she would be able to eat solid foods. It would still be a lot of work, but at least they would have more options of _what_ to feed her. And although she was seemingly healthy, Beth looked forward to the day she knew Judith would be provided with more nutrients than she was getting.

"So, why did my dad just take off with Carol?" Carl asked Beth, interrupting her train of thought. Beth smiled up at him. "I'm sure whatever reason he had was a good one Carl. I'm gonna put Judith down for a nap and we can start unloading everything that's left." Daryl stood up with the infant in his arms. "I'll put asskicker in bed." He walked to Beth's cell before she could respond. Beth sighed and let him go past. He may be an ass sometimes, but he was a lot better with Judith than even he would admit. Beth shifted to Carl. "Ok Carl, I think Michonne found some comic books and candy bars you liked. Did you want to help me look?" Carl's eyes lit up with excitement. Beth knew it was a yes. She laughed and grabbed the first bag she saw. She was excited to get everything unloaded herself.

_Daryl's pov_

Judith was being fussy when Daryl tried to lay her down. After a while, he decided to try what he always saw Beth do to soothe her. He slathered some of the lotion from the purple bottle on his hand, and undid Judith's onesie with the other. No wonder why she was fussy. She was hot and sweaty. He laid her against him and smoothed the lotion on her back. He wasn't going to sing. It was bad enough he was already rubbing lotion on her. The infant had won him over the day she was born, and Daryl never liked kids too much before. Then again, Judith couldn't talk. But maybe that wouldn't matter much. He had grown a soft spot for her and if having kids would be anything like having her he would be perfectly ok with being a dad. The only thing that had ever stopped him from thinking about it before was that he was too afraid he would end up like his own father. And the fact he had never had a steady relationship in his life wasn't helping either. Hell, he hadn't even really had a relationship ever. A few dazed hook ups with whatever junkies Merle brought around.

After a few moments, Judith began to calm down and close her eyes. It was then Daryl was in a dilemma. How was he supposed to lay her down without waking her up? He couldn't carry her like this, and he couldn't stay sitting on Beth's cot. Maggie appeared then, almost making Daryl jump. She seemed to have read his mind. "Here Daryl, let me ley her down." She gracefully removed the infant from his arms and placed her on her back in the pack and play, removing the article of clothing she had on. "Good idea, it is way too hot for her to have this on anyway." Maggie smile down at Judith then looked back at Daryl, the smile fading. "Rick is back now, he wants to talk to you. He is in the library I think." Daryl stood up. He didn't like the tone in her voice. He knew it was nothing he did, but it still wasn't good, especially if he was in the library. As if reading his mind, Maggie added, "I don't think you'll like it, but he made the right choice." She looked anywhere but at him.

Daryl slowly made his way to the library. Rick was back earlier than expected. He found Rick sitting at one of the tables cleaning some of the new weapons. It was a lucky haul. Daryl stood in front of Rick, alerting him to his presence. Rick stood up. "I gotta talk to you Daryl, and you aint gonna like it but I did what needed to be done." Daryl nodded, waiting for whatever was about to come. Rick continued. "Carol is gone. I had to ask her to leave the prison." Daryl was shocked. He knew it wasn't going to be good, but he wasn't expecting that. He immediately felt the anger rising in him.

"Why didn't you talk to me about this first?"

"She killed Karen and David. Tyrese would have killed her."

Daryl shook his head. He couldn't believe what he just heard. Carol murdered them? It was Carol? "No, that's not her." Daryl denied it. He knew after Sophia died Carol had turned around, but murder? That just wasn't like her.

"I had no choice Daryl. She killed two of our own. She couldn't be here." Rick paused, thinking of what to say next. "She's gonna be alright. She has a car, supplies, weapons, she's a survivor."

Daryl swung around and menacingly pointed his finger in Rick's face. "You're saying that like you don't believe it!" Daryl could feel the rage inside of him. Carol may have made him feel weird. She might have done things neither he nor Rick, or anyone else for that matter had agreed with, but she was like a sister to Daryl and she was with them from the start. She had helped all of them at one point or another. You don't just abandon your family when you disagree with them.

"She did it. She said it was for us. She wasn't sorry." Rick stood his ground. Daryl reeled around again, facing away from Rick this time.

"That aint her." Daryl looked at a crack in the wall, his next choice of words on the tip of his tongue. "What're we supposed to do bout them two girls?"

Rick sighed. "I told her we'd look after them."

Daryl sunk his face into his hands and took a deep breath.

Rick shifted in his place. "I haven't told Tyrese yet. I don't know how he's going to take it." Daryl stood up and turned to Rick. He knew Carol would do anything for her family, but killing two people who could have recovered wasn't right. And although he was angry he wasn't consulted, something told Daryl Rick made the right choice. Tyrese would surely have killed her and Rick made the humane decision by asking Carol to leave, he was protecting her, even if no one else saw it that way.

"I guess we'll have to find out then." Daryl turned and walked out of the library. When things had calmed down a little more, then he and Rick would face Tyrese together, but it wasn't going to be today.

_beths pov_

The next few days had been busy. Most of the sick ward was still in recovery, but doing a lot better overall. There was always cleaning to do, either in cell blocks, or outside at the fences. Beth was also helping a lot with the harvest and in the little free time she did have, taking care of Judith. Daryl was surprisingly the most help, when Rick or Carl were preoccupied.

Judith sat in her lap, she grabbed the collar of Beth's shirt, and gave the equivalent of a kiss by placing her open mouth on Beth's cheek. Beth smiled at the little girl and Judith, almost perfectly clear, said, "Momma." Beth jumped up, maintaining the grip on the little girl. Judith giggled, and again called Beth, "momma." This time lovingly cupping Beth's cheek in her own little hand. An image of Lori flashed in her mind. Beth ran down the cell block, she needed to take a break from the infant. In any other circumstance Beth would have been touched, but loosing Lori was one of the worst things that ever happened to the group, and after the recent news of Carol getting kicked out, Beth was on edge. She didn't know why, just knew Rick had a reason he didn't want to discuss until further notice and to not ask questions or talk about it. Carol had after all helped saved her dad after he lost his leg.

Beth handed the infant off to Tyrese, who was walking back to his cell from the showers. He looked puzzled, and called after Beth, who ran out of the cell block and towards the door to get outside. Judith busted into tears, realizing Beth had left her. Beth felt bad, but she just needed a minute or two, maybe a lot longer. She ran out into the picnic area, past Rick, Sasha, Maggie, Bob, Glenn and her father, all with puzzled looks, she ripped the gates open, and ran for the watch tower. Beth made it to the tower out of breath.

She climbed to the top, opened the hatch, and sat down in one of the chairs. And noticed the bedding from Glenn and Maggie had been left behind. "Somethin chasing you?" Daryl drawled, cigarette hanging from his lip. Beth spun around and he was just out the door, standing right outside, leaning against the rail. How did she not notice him? "No, I just needed some time to myself. Needed a break from Judith." Daryl took one last drag of his cigarette and blew the smoke into the breeze. He put it out and carelessly tossed it over the edge down onto the gravel below. Beth settled down onto one of the sleeping bags. "When you go back to the group tell them I'm sleeping out here." Daryl made a noise, a grunt, resembling a tone of disbelief.

"Three problems Greene. I'm sleeping out here tonight, you need to sleep in the cellblock, and I don't think your father would think it appropriate if I sleep in the guard tower with his 16 year old daughter." Beth huffed in response his brash statement.

"Three things Dixon. I'm almost nineteen, you sleep in the cell next to mine, and I don't care what my daddy thinks. I'm just sleeping. I'm not dating you, we aren't out here doing whatever Maggie and Glenn do, and I think my dad would feel safer with you sleeping close by instead of me being by myself, because I am staying with or without you out here."

Daryl raised an eyebrow, then smirked. "Alright Beth. But if you talk to me after I'm in my sleeping bag, I'll leave and send that punk from Woodbury to sit with you all night."

Beth smiled. She got exactly what she wanted.

_daryls pov_

He didn't feel comfortable with Beth lying only a few feet away. She had fortunately fell asleep first. Daryl never hung around teenage girls, so he was very glad he didn't have to listen to whatever the chatter would have been.

The sounds of moans could be heard, faint, but still there. A dozen figures or so hung around the fence below, but were oblivious to anything. They weren't a threat. Daryl dug in his pocket for a cigarette and his lighter. He wasn't sleeping so he might as well enjoy a smoke. He observed the activity at the fence below. They were plenty high up to not be noticed or catch the rotting smell of the dead, he was glad for that. The smell could be very over powering when the lurkers where in large numbers.

Beth stirred in her sleep, and mumbled something about Carl grabbing a diaper and Judith pooping on her. Daryl let out a small chuckle. Beth had primarily taken on the role of Judith's mother, and although not physically strong, she took the burden upon herself and seldom asked for help or complained about looking after Judith. Rick appreciated it, he was always looking after everyone at the prison, and he was a great father, but Beth spent the most time with her.

Daryl snubbed his butt out and crawled into his sleeping bag, making sure his crossbow was within arm's reach, as always, it was. They were safe up here even if the fences came down, but his guard was never down for danger. A short while later sleep overcame Daryl and he drifted into a dream.

_There was a child, a little girl with bright blue eyes and brown hair, running towards Daryl. She couldn't have been older than two. She was laughing and giggling and holding a doll. Daryl reached out for her, and the girl dropped the doll and jumped into his arms. "Daddy!" She exclaimed. She peppered his face in kisses and ran her little hands through his hair. She was so beautiful at her young age, but the Dixon features were there. Daryl was in a house. A small house, but well-kept and warm. Someone could be heard singing close by, Daryl knew it sounded familiar, but he couldn't tell. "Momma singing." The little girl said. The little girl toddled off towards the sound, looking for the source. Daryl saw something out of the corner of his eye, a blonde head of hair. But when he turned to see who it was, his father was standing there. _

_"My my, you actually turned out pretty decent looking and you got a woman. You beat the shit out of that little brat yet?" Daryl swung, wanting to kill the bastard, but his father dodged it easily. "Now now Darylina, that isn't necessary. I taught you how to fish, hunt and track. A Dixon ain't never a family man. I say you leave that kid in a dumpster and that whore on the corner and come hunting with your pa." Daryl reached for his knife, realized he didn't have it. Harley Dixon cackled and easily punched him in the gut. "I'm a better father and husband than you ever where you piece of shit! I hope your burning in hell!"_

Daryl snapped awake in a cold sweat. Beth was still asleep, thankfully. But Daryl must have thrashed in his sleep, because he was completely out of his sleeping bag and almost on top of Beth. He took a few deep breaths to calm himself, and inched his sleeping bag back over. He was all over about his piece of crap father who somehow still haunted his dreams, but glad Beth hadn't woken and seen him in a moment of weakness. He didn't feel like explaining to her his childhood or the nightmare he just had.

After a few minutes, sleep slowly crept back to Daryl. Beth turned around, having to of woken up, and she gently placed her hand over his. "Daryl, I heard you thrashing. You don't need to tell me anything, but I think Bella is a beautiful name for a dog." Daryl felt the heat in his cheeks. So she had woken up. But she thought his dream was about a dog, so maybe she didn't hear everything. Daryl wasn't sure he wanted to know, but he asked anyway.

"Did I say anything else?"

"No, Daryl, all I heard was you told Bella she was a good girl and then you started shaking and where next to me then you woke up. You don't need to talk about it, but I'm right next to you."

"Nobody needs to know about this." Daryl grunted.

"It's safe with me." Beth confirmed. Daryl noticed her hand was still lingering over his ever so slightly. He was about to pull it away, then thought better of it. Beth may be Judith's caregiver and maybe not the strongest, but she wore her heart on her sleeve and was kind to everyone even if they weren't kind to her. Daryl hated that he let her put her hand there, and he hated that she had seen him in a moment of weakness, but every once in a while even Daryl Dixon himself would accept some kindness from Beth Greene.

**a/n how did u guys like that i lifted Daryl's reaction right off the show? I hope i portrayed it well, it took me forever to write, had to keep watching and re-watching that ep, and of course it was confusing cuz i had to keep jumping between eps with how i chose to write my story. anyway, i got future chapters planned, and some written out. chap 6 and 7 are wrote out now in the rough drafts, and future chapters are mapped out. im sorry it took so long for this update and just know that it wont always be like this. Let me know what you guys think. **


	6. Chapter 6

**a/n annnd here is chapter 6. ENJOY.**

_Beth's pov_

It had been two days since Beth stayed in the watch tower and Daryl had been avoiding Beth as much as possible. She knew Daryl was very closed off, but she wasn't sure why he had to avoid her. He had been hunting as much as possible. He had come back with a deer, a small one, but it was food. Beth was in the middle of doing supper dishes when she had heard gunfire, and lots of it. It was right outside the prison walls. Maggie came running into the cell block, and called for everyone's help. "The walkers knocked the fence down that Carl and Rick were mending and are about to knock down the one right around the prison we need help now!" Beth immediately dropped the dishes in the basin of water and ran to the door. Hershel put the kids in a cell, and he grabbed at Beth to join them. She shrugged her father off and ran past. If her home was in danger she wanted to help defend it. It was dark as could be outside, and sure enough, there was walkers everywhere. From the collapsed fence, and pushing into the one right around the prison wall, surrounding the courtyard.

Beth was handed a rifle. An assault rifle. Why did they hand her a weapon she had no idea how to use? Rick tossed Beth a clip next, and picking up on her confusion, he instructed her how to use it along with Carl, as everyone crept to where the fence was about to give in, readying their aim. "Alright, listen to me, magazine goes in here, release is here, make sure to latch it." Rick patted it for effect. "Pull back the operating rod and rounds speed up, keep squeezing the trigger for rapid fire. You shoot or you run, don't let them get close, ok?" Both Carl and Beth nodded, Beth still not quite sure what to do.

The fence bowed in then, and everyone started firing, Beth taking a few seconds to figure out how to operate the weapon. Seconds later, over fifty of them had stumbled in, but between Rick, Carl, Maggie, Bob, Tyrese and herself they were able to keep taking them down. By the time they had finished a few moments later, they had killed numerous walkers. Daryl had been on the other side of the prison and had come up and helped with the remainder of the walkers, but they were mostly gone by that time. Tyrese and Bob had retired to check on Glenn and Sasha, both still recovering from the flu virus. Maggie went by their father, to tell him what had just happened, and Beth realized she was standing outside with Rick, Carl and Daryl. "Beth, you and Carol can go around and stab anything in the head that moves. Daryl and I will have to fix the outside fence before more get in.

Beth nodded and went around to help stab the walkers that were still alive. Or not dead yet, so to speak. One reached for Carl's ankle, and Beth immediately pushed a crowbar through its head without blinking. Carl looked at her and smiled. "Thanks Beth." Beth returned the smile and stabbed another one, underneath a few others in a pile, just a few feet away. She pulled the crowbar out with a sick squelching sound, and hung it back up on the fence. After a half hour, the fence panels were fixed and reinforced. Tyrese and Bob both came back out and helped, and as Beth was walking back in with Carl, he thanked her for helping. Beth had known he had a small crush on her, but she always dismissed it. "Ya know Beth, we could go to the library together, and clean some of these weapons." Beth let out a soft giggle, and placed her hand on Carl's shoulder. She had happened to overhear Rick and Tyrese telling Hershel they had cleaned all the weapons that needed it just that afternoon.

"I told your dad I would watch Judith so he could be on guard duty tonight, to make sure the fences hold. He wants us to go to bed so we can get up early and put everything back together and harvest some of the crops." Carl sighed and walked into his cell. He picked up a comic book and sat down with a flashlight. Beth walked to her cell and pulled a sweater on. It was late summer now, and although the days were hot, the nights were starting to get cool, and in the cell blocks it tended to be damp and cold. She found a light blanket, and prepared to make a bed for Judith on the inside cot that was shoved next to hers. It was cold and Beth wanted her close for body heat. Judith had heard Rick telling Carl goodnight, and she went to grab Judith to put her to bed, when Daryl appeared in her cell with the infant in his arms. It was the first time she had seen him since they had slept in the watchtower. He had awkwardly shuffled out the next morning, barely looking at her. He barely looked at her then either. "Here's the baby, looks like you already got her bed made up." It was obvious by his tone he was surprised to have seen her there. He had expected to put Judith to bed by himself.

"Thank you, Daryl. She really enjoys being with you, ya know." There was an awkward entanglement of arms while exchanging the infant, who almost immediately put her head on Beth's shoulder. Daryl patted Judith's head, and turned out of Beth's cell. Beth let out a long sigh. She didn't think whatever had happened was that bad, but apparently Daryl did. Oh well, with time he'd stop avoiding her. After Beth and Rick, Daryl spent the most time with her, and more often than not, he would have to come to Beth if he wanted to spend time with Judith. Even if they didn't have Judith, they lived in close quarters, with most of them living in cell block C, it wasn't like he could avoid her that easily. The prison seemed big, and it may have been at first, but it according to Rick it was on the smaller side for a prison. Like Beth would know.

_Daryl's pov_

Daryl had felt bad about not being able to be there immediately when Rick had needed him, he was on the other side of the prison, mending a hole in the fence. It wasn't a priority, but it was a hole that would get bigger if no one tended to it and he needed to avoid Beth as much as possible. He didn't want her to think he was weak, and although he would accept her kindness once in a while, he still didn't want her to think he was a softy.

He had heard the quick and short bursts of the assault rifles, Rick would never use those unless there was a lot of walkers that needed to put down and quickly. Daryl quickly wired the fence shut and grabbed his gun out of its holster. He ran as fast as he could, praying it wasn't a large herd and he wouldn't walk up on everyone dead. He came around the corner, just a minute later, to see the fence right off the courtyard down, and Rick, Carl, Beth, Maggie, and Bob shooting, and Tyrese, hanging off to the side, killing any walkers that had wondered off with his hammer. _Does he ever use a gun?_ Daryl asked himself. Daryl then joined in the gunfire, helping take down the last dozen or so lurkers that had crept their way into their courtyard. Rick immediately wanted to mend the fences, the outside one first, and Daryl volunteered to help, while Carl and Beth killed any walkers that may have been missed in the gunfire. Tyrese and Bob joined them halfway through mending the fences, making the job easier. They were able to temporarily mend the fence within a short time, but Rick wanted to be on guard duty to make sure it held. "I won't sleep tonight anyway, I best be close by watching the fence, if too many pile up after all the noise we made we are screwed."

Daryl volunteered to help Rick with the watch but first they wanted the opinion of the counsel. Rick and Daryl went back into the prison and asked everyone's opinion. They were to be out in fours, and each group would be at the fences once, each about four hours. Rick, Maggie, Bob, and Sasha were on first watch, with Sasha only jumping in if the numbers got too large, as she was still recovering from the flu. Tyrese, Daryl, Michonne and Glenn were the second group, also with Glenn hanging back unless needed. Two of the Woodbury folks had volunteered to help as well, but only to run into the prison and grab more people if they needed it. Rick didn't want them at the fences for some reason but Daryl didn't bother to ask why.

Daryl took Judith out of Rick's arms, as Rick said goodnight to Carl. Rick had first watch and he'd save him some time by putting his daughter to bed for him. Last he saw of Beth she was walking into the prison with Carl, shooting the poor kid down. Daryl could tell Carl had some kind of crush on her, but Beth never paid him much attention. Maybe if he was older, but he was sure Beth, who was almost nineteen, as she had pointed out previously, was not interested in a fourteen year old boy who was only after comic books and candy bars.

Daryl was happy Beth had disappeared, he suspected she went to the showers to freshen up, she had gotten a lot of blood on her before and he hadn't seen her in the cellblock yet. He was surprised when he saw her pulling blankets onto the cot that was shoved onto hers, a bed for Judith? Daryl saw her with a sweater on, and he remembered it was starting to get a little chilly at night with summer drawing to a close. Her shoulder was showing just a little, he also realized it was the sweater she was wearing when he broke the news about Zack to her.

He was de-sensitized to the cold, he had slept in the woods often growing up, never owning a proper jacket in his life. Even when he did live in some rundown shack somewhere, his dad was never concerned with paying for heat or insulating the house properly. He'd build a fire if he got cold, but only when he was sober, which was rare. Many nights it was just above freezing, and Daryl would come home from a day in the woods, his father passed out on the tattered couch, vomit on the floor and himself, and empty bottles of booze everywhere. Daryl would cover the useless drunk, and crawl into bed, shivering all night, even with all the blankets he could find. After years of it, no amount of cold seemed to bother him anymore.

"Here's the baby, looks like you already got her bed made up." Judith was sound asleep in Daryl's arms. Beth made a remark about how Judith liked Daryl so much, which he didn't reply to. Beth took the little girl from his arms, careful not to wake her, and she placed her into the makeshift bed next to her. Daryl immediately left, he didn't want to stay and chatter, not tonight. Maybe he would try and get a few hours of sleep before his watch.

The night had been busier than Rick, Daryl or anyone from the prison had hoped. Shortly after Daryl had said goodnight to Judith, Rick had asked for as many bodies as possible, the fence was swarmed with walkers, and they needed as many people as possible to help keep the fence from coming down again. The only ones who stayed behind were Hershel, Lizzie, Mika, Molly, and Luke. No one wanted the kids out there, and Hershel stayed with Judith for Rick's peace of mind.

After a few hours, Rick had dismissed everyone but Michonne, Maggie, Daryl, Bob, and Tyrese, who agreed to stay for another few hours. Daryl helped for another hour or so, until about one am, then decided to try and catch a few hours asleep, this time he was able to pass out immediately and wasn't disturbed until Hershel woke him up an hour or so before dawn. Daryl rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. He was in his mid-thirties, and although still young, he could feel when he only got a few hours of sleep every night harder than when he was twenty-five.

The rest of the shift had gone smoothly, fortunately. Daryl and most of the other men residing at the prison were able to help repair the fence to where it was safe again, and everyone decided to rest, then they'd get rid of all the bodies that had built up.

Most of the bodies were dumped in the woods nearby and burned. Daryl pulled the truck up to the front, having just dropped one of the last loads and burning the pile of bodies. Michonne was loading up what would be the last trip to burn the bodies. Most of them had little or no sleep, so everyone was more than ready to get it over with and catch a cat nap. "You need some help with those?" Daryl asked Michonne. She jumped off the trailer, and faced him.

"Nahh, you do your thing." Daryl turned and walked back to the prison, thankful she didn't need his help. Daryl met Hershel, who was on his way out. He had heard throughout the night that Glenn, who was still recovering and had overexerted himself the night before, went into a coughing fit, coughing up blood, and nearly stopped breathing. Hershel stood by his side the whole night, alone, taking care of him. "You're a tough sonuvabitch, you know it?" Daryl clapped the old man on the shoulder, who only confirmed what Daryl had just said. "Yes I am." Daryl turned to look back at Michonne, and Hershel. "You wanna come?" Michonne had asked him. Hershel replied, sounding very enthusiastic, "Hell yea!" Michonne smiled, and they jumped into the suv together, and drove down to the gate. Daryl smiled to himself, Hershel was the toughest SOB he knew. Now hopefully the third time he tried to get some rest, he'd be successful.

_Beth's pov_

Most of the day had been quiet and uneventful. Even Judith had seemed a little crabby and more so just wanted to stay in her pack and play. Beth had spent most of the day conversing with her sister and dad, until he decided to go get some air. Beth would have preferred him to rest after the night he had had, but she wasn't going to stop him from getting some fresh air either. "Daddy?" Hershel stopped in his tracks and turned to look at Beth, ever so lovingly. Beth put her arms around her father and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I love you, please stay safe." It was more of a request than a demand. Hershel smiled and grabbed Beth's hand with his. "Beth, I love you too, and I won't be gone long. Judith might be teething, see if there is any drops to help her in the bag from the last run." Beth smiled, and she reached up and gave him another kiss on the cheek. Something told her it was the right thing to do.

Hershel walked out and Beth went back to her cell, looking for the drops her father was talking about, to find Judith fast asleep. Beth decided if she could catch a nap, now was the time. Sleep overtook her almost immediately.

Beth woke up to what sounded like an explosion and Judith crying a few hours later. She sat up, and again felt another explosion, this time realizing it was right outside the prison. "Kids, stay in here!" Beth shouted as she ran outside. Beth met Maggie, who was coming from Glenn's cell, and Carl from the office block. They ran to the courtyard, as Rick, Daryl and Tyrese ran outside. "Stay back!" Rick shouted, panic in his voice. Beth saw him look where the jeep and trailer where parked earlier, and saw it was empty. She followed her sister, and crouched with her sister behind a wall. To Beth's utter shock and complete horror, a row of cars, and a tank in the middle, and the man they had all feared the most standing on top of the tank, The Governor himself. She could see him eyeing up his surroundings, and he spoke. "Rick, come down here, we need to talk!" Two men opened hatches in the tank. There was at least fifteen of them, or more, she couldn't tell. Beth felt her stomach drop, what was about to happen? It could not be good.

**a/n what did you guys think of me taking some of that stuff right out of the show? it was kind of a challenge to write due to my time line tweaking, so i hope i tied it all in seamlessly. the next chapter is pretty predictable, but i do have some original stuff planned in there too, so i hope i can have a few surprises for you guys yet! as always, let me know what you think. i know some characters are a little ooc, fanficition is new to me, im learning as i go, so i apologize if i throw any of the characters off. i also apologize for not updating more often. i work full time and am on social media way to much in my free time. (my house shows it! lol) plus i gotta try and have a life in there too. thanks again, for the continued support, it makes me feel great that you guys so patiently wait and always have nice things to say!**


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